INSTITUT D ’É TUDES POLITIQUES DE PARIS PARIS SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS MASTER IN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY DIFFUSION OF ISLAMIC DISCOURSE : SAUDI AND IRANIAN INFLUENCE IN LAGOS AND CAPE TOWN TORE REFSLUND HAMMING Thesis directed by Stéphane Lacroix, Associate Professor at Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA)and Researcher atCentre d’Études de Relations Internationales (CERI) MARCH 2014 Jury: M. Stéphane Lacroix, Associate Professor M. Andreas Roessner, Academic Advisor Mme Laurence Louër, Chargée de Recherche CERI The copyright of this Master's thesis remains the property of its author. No part of the content may be reproduced, published, distributed, copied or stored for public or private use without written permission of the author. All authorisation requests should be sent to [email protected] TABLE OF CONTENT Abstract i Preface iii Acknowledgements v Glossary vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Research prism and clarification 3 Outline 6 Clarification of terminology 6 Theoretical Framework and Methodology 8 Research design 13 CHAPTER 2 SAUDI – IRAN RELATIONS:A SOFT POWER SUPREMACY DILEMMA 16 A political and historical perspective 17 A sectarian perspective 18 Soft power dilemma: Diffusing religion for regional supremacy 20 CHAPTER 3 ISLAMIC DOCTRINE AND DISCOURSE IN LAGOS 23 Challenging existing structures:Newcomers to a monopolised field 25 The emergence of Salafi doctrine 29 Saudi inspiration and interference 33 The role of Shiism and the relation to Iran 35 Transformation of the Islamic field:The importance of education 38 Conclusive remarks:The transformative power of the educated youth 40 CHAPTER 4 ISLAMIC DOCTRINE AND DISCOURSE IN CAPE TOWN 43 Religion turning increasingly public and pluralistic 44 The emergence of Shiism in Cape Town 46 The emergence of Salafism:Literalism in a tolerant community 48 A Sunni-Shia sectarian struggle 53 The transnational character of Shiism and Salafism 55 Conclusive remarks:Field transformation and limitations 57 CHAPTER 5 EXPLAINING RELIGIOUS DIFFUSION: THE APPLICABILITY OF THE ISLAMIC COLD WAR PRISM 60 Assessing religious diffusion 61 Limits of the Islamic Cold War prism 64 What does it indicate for the future? 64 CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION 67 Annex: Maps 70 Lagos 70 Cape Town 71 Bibliography 72 ABSTRACT From the context of the Islamic Cold War between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, this thesis examines the diffusion of Salafi and Shia doctrines to Sub- Saharan Africa through case studies of Lagos and Cape Town. It is my hypothesis that the Islamic Cold War and the Saudi-Iranian struggle for regional hegemony – a dynamic I define as a soft power supremacy dilemma – can partly explain the diffusion of religious doctrine and the emergence of Salafism and Shiism south of Sahara. To assess the explanatory prowess of this hypothesis and to understand the development of Islamic doctrine in Sub-Saharan African, I seek to provide answers for three interrelated questions: (1) to what extent are the religious discourses of Saudi Arabia and Iran diffused to Lagos and Cape Town and how can such diffusion be interpreted in the context of an Islamic Cold War and their struggle for regional power?, (2) at what level of interaction and through which types of actors is religious diffusion occurring?, and (3) what is the reciprocal influence of Salafi and Shia doctrines in the local environments of Lagos and Cape Town? To answer these questions, I apply a methodological framework, which takes it inspiration from French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s conceptualisation of social fields as an interpretative grid open for analysis. This framework helps identify intra-field contestation for religious authority and thus enables analysis of field dynamics and transformation. The main foundation of empirical data in constituted by first-hand interviews and observations conducted during two months of fieldwork in Lagos and Cape Town, respectively. Having studied and interacted with Islamic culture and having held several meetings with Salafis and Shias in Lagos and Cape Town, the thesis presents three broad conclusions; first, since the 1960s-70s, both Lagos and Cape Town have experienced increased pluralism within the Islamic field affecting the structures of the field. Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa has traditionally been equated with prominent Sufi brotherhoods and moderate and tolerant religious interpretation, but the emergence of several new doctrines is challenging Sufism’s monopolisation of Islamic discourse. New actors – Salafis in particular – have to a great extent succeeded in transforming both doctrine and discourse by emphasising the importance of religious knowledge. Second, the emergence of new doctrines has led to a radicalisation of Islamic discourse with the dual objective of consolidation and condemnation. The debate focuses on issues such as ‘what constitutes religious knowledge’ and ‘what true Islam is’ resulting in reciprocal accusations of heresy and bid’a and leading to what could be defined an Islamic revivalism. Third, the emergence of Salafism and Shiism in Lagos and Cape Town is a result of interaction with Saudi and Iranian actors and institutions. Primarily occurring through educational institutions, this diffusion can be attributed to the Islamic Cold War and i its inherent logic. I argue that Saudi and Iranian diffusion has been paramount to the emergence of new doctrines, but that it is inadequate to understand the further development of Salafi and Shia doctrine within the local environments of Lagos and Cape Town. PREFACE The initial idea for this thesis came about in my first semester at Sciences Po during a casual talk with my academic tutor on the topic of preparing for a future Ph.D. application. Discussing my interests in the Middle East and Africa, she made a remark on the struggle between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran for Islamic domination in Sub-Saharan Africa. As I was really interested in applying a transcontinental or transregional research focus, I started to get interested in the topic and conducted some basic iii research to attain more knowledge. However, the absence of information was striking – particularly when researching the transregional religious influence, which was my greatest interest. Academics gaps of knowledge are found in abundance, but my fascination for the study of radical Islamic doctrines like Salafism and Shiism and the evident volatility of religious affiliation in Sub-Saharan communities triggered my curiosity. In the following months, ideas and assumptions were discussed with my supervisor, which helped me only understand the substance but also in guiding me in critical choices regarding research design and methodology. As it was a clear ambition from the start to provide information and analysis to a topic lacking sufficient academic research, it was paramount to me that the main sources underlying the analysis were attained through first-hand empirical data. This led me two months to first Lagos and then Cape Town, where I got to conduct interviews, observe, and reflect. The results are presented through the following 100 pages. A few months of field work and a master thesis however, is not sufficient to fill the gap of knowledge and thus more studies are necessary to truly understand how Islamic doctrine is developing in Sub-Saharan Africa and how this development to some extent in influenced by external actors including Saudi Arabia and Iran. If nothing more, I consider the findings of this thesis relevant to better understand these dynamics and hope that it will not only add to the scholarly perception of Islam in Sub- Saharan Africa and the dynamics of the Islamic Cold War, but also that my findings will be used in future examinations related to Islam in Africa. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As I regard this thesis an integral part of my master degree at Sciences Po, I would like to thank the Paris School of International Affairs for letting me engage on the thrilling and v highly challenging task it has been to conduct the research resulting in this master thesis and not least for allowing me to travel to Nigeria amid high instability. Furthermore, I would like to thank my supervisor Stéphane Lacroix for our talks and his guidance, which not only helped as clarification for also as an incredible source of inspiration. From my time in the field, much appreciation goes to my research assistant Usman Abdulmalik Aliyu, whose assistance in introducing me to local Muslims and in translating interviews was immense. A further thanks needs to be extended to all the persons I interviewed in Lagos and Cape Town. Their general openness and generosity not only made my job feasible, but also provided me with incredibly interesting perspectives on how Muslim communities are developing in the two Sub-Saharan metropolises. Lastly, I would like to thank the Kuwait Program at Sciences Po for awarding me the mobility grant, which made my fieldwork in Lagos and Cape Town possible. As first-hand interviews have been critical to understand and examine the research topic and to obtain knowledge absent in existing academic literature, their financial assistance has been essential to the quality and final result of the thesis. GLOSSARY Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama’a Literally, ‘the people of the tradition and the group’. AhlulBayt or Ahl al-Bayt Literally, ‘the people of the house’ referring to the members of the family of the Prophet Muhammad. ‘aqida The creed. The dominant conception in the Sunni world is the Ash’arite creed, which gives a limited role to reason in theological speculation. This conception is fiercely challenged by Salafis. Ash’ari A Sunni school of Islam after Imam Abu al-Hasan al- Ash’ari. See above. ashura Celebration that takes place on the tenth day of the Muslim month of Muharram to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein. It is marked by processions of men dressed in black, who flagellate themselves as a sign of penitence.